By Adam Julian for LockerRoom
Michaela Blyde promised a gold medal and the Black Ferns duly delivered in a pulsating Paris heart-bender.
With the side down 12-7 at halftime, it was Blyde’s 10th try of the tournament following a quick tap from Jorja Miller that nudged New Zealand ahead of the lion-hearted Canadians.
Unfathomably, New Zealand appeared stuck in Seine sewage after that. Even rangatira Sarah Hirini conceded two penalties as New Zealand back-heeled towards their posts.
Grey hair, bloody-nosed, buggered knees. Where the hell did Hirini summon the stamina for a gut-busting 45-metre burst? With a minute remaining, Tyler King calmly supports. The rest is graceful and reassuring. Stacey Waaka unleashes that assassin’s margarine-melting smile as she crushes Canada’s improbable prospects of an upset with a final gallop.
New Zealand regained the restart, and the future kicked it out: young star Jorja Miller booting the ball into the grandstand seems symbolic.
Earlier, Blyde busted right away and was tackled by Charity Williams. New Zealand looked ominous and a left-foot swerve and 55-metre dash by Risi Pouri-Lane was the first blow.
Canada withstood brutal defence, bravely and patiently working the ball across their goal line to Williams, who sprinted to the 22. Williams was caught by Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who made head contact. As at Rio, Woodman-Wickliffe was yellow-carded.
Canada struck back when Olivia Apps drew in two defenders and offloaded in one hand to an unmarked Chloe Daniels. Canada took the lead into halftime when Hirini threw an intercept to Alysha Corrigan.
A 24-12 victory over the USA in the semifinal had guaranteed New Zealand its first medal in Paris.
The Black Ferns made a poor start, with Miller throwing a wayward pass, conceding a turnover, and then being fended off by Alev Kelter for the Americans’ first try.
New Zealand regrouped and a Hirini pass to Waaka enabled Waaka to bounce off the right foot and stride clear at halfway.
New Zealand amplified their defensive intensity in the second half, with Theresa Setefano injuring her arm in a brutal shot on the much-hyped lona Maher. Miller then poached a turnover after Blyde and Pouri-Lane dished out similar punishment. From an ensuing scrum, Waaka wouldn’t be stopped.
Possession mounted and the attack started to flow. The USA became fatigued and started falling off tackles. Twice Blyde overpowered her opposite in typically startling tries.
There had been a grim possibility Australia could have held all three major titles after winning the Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup in 2022. Instead, the Aussies imploded spectacularly against Canada.
Ahead 12-0 and enjoying an avalanche of possession, there was a dramatic momentum shift before halftime when Williams won a turnover and dashed from her own 22.
Canada bullied Australia after the interval and took the lead in the 10th minute with an Asia Hogan-Rochester try, converted by the crafty Apps.
Inexplicably, Teegan Levi dropped a routine pass inside the 22 and Canada’s Piper Logan ferreted clear from a scrum and ironically, carried Levi with her over the try line.
Madison Levi fumbled the restart and Canada confirmed their place in the Olympic final.
In improving their Olympic record to 17 wins and one defeat at the games, New Zealand scored a record number of points with 212.
Woodman-Wickliffe, Setefano, King and Hirini join Dame Lisa Carrington, Sir Ian Ferguson, Paul MacDonald, Sir Peter Snell, Hamish Bond, Dame Valerie Adams, Danyon Loader, Sir Mark Todd, Simon Dickie, Mahé Drysdale, Peter Burling, Blair Tuke, Barbara Kendall, Blyth Tait, Andrew Nicholson and Zoi Sadowski-Synnott as winners of three or more Olympic medals.
Blyde, Waaka, Pouri-Lane and Alena Saili were part of the wining squad at Tokyo in 2020.
New Zealand were crowned SVNS League winners in 2023-24 and won the most cup titles of any team this season with four – Vancouver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Singapore.
New Zealand Sevens were officially launched in 2000. They have played in 80 tournaments, winning 50 and finishing runners-up 14 times.
In June 2013, New Zealand won the World Cup in Russia, beating Canada 29-12 in the final. Additionally, the inaugural World Sevens Series was captured, New Zealand winning three of four tournaments - in Dubai, Guangzhou, and Amsterdam - to take overall honours.
Professional contracts followed, with 19 of New Zealand’s leading players earning remuneration for the first time.
Hirini, Kelly Brazier, Woodman-Wickliffe, King and Blyde were part of that group, with Waaka and Ruby Tui joining a short while later.
In the following decade a record seven SVNS league titles, two Rugby World Cups, two Olympic gold medals and the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medal were won.
The Black Ferns Sevens became mainstream with Hirini, Brazier, Woodman-Wickliffe, Waaka and Tui successfully converting to fifteens and helping the Black Ferns win the 2017 and 2021 Rugby World Cups.
King and Woodman-Wickliffe have retired. The brilliant Brazier didn’t feature at these Olympics and is unlikely to be seen again. With her knee injury and age, Hirini will struggle to make another Olympics. Setefano would also be in that category.
Miller and Pouri-Lane are bona fide stars and will likely carry the team for the next several seasons. Pouri-Lane replaced Hirini as skipper when the latter was injured. She leads in a similar vein to Hirini, while developing the kicking expertise of King. Replacing King’s prowess at the restart shapes is particularly challenging.
Miller has the potential to be the best player in the world – for two years she has been New Zealand’s leading impact player in the key metrics of tackles, line breaks, offloads and carries.
Jazmin Felix-Hotham and Mahina Paul are two whose stature grew in these Olympics and have key roles to play – Felix-Hotham with her hustle on defence and speed on the edge, and Nuku in a similar role to King.
Developing pathways? At present, the elite model is very centralised, with little opportunity to break through unless you’re summoned to Mount Maunganui.
Is there a possibility of more sevens leagues in the club and high school space instead of the often forlorn, purist approach of assembling competitive 15-a-side competitions? Logistically, sevens is challenging to put together and is better suited to being played in summer when there are long school holidays.
Rugby league looms as a threat for preserving talent. The NRL Women’s Premiership has increased its number of fixtures in 2024 and the minimum salary will lift from $30,000 for each squad member to $50,600 by 2027, with an increased fortune for “marquee” players.
A Warriors franchise will join in 2025. The men, despite languishing outside the top eight, became the first NRL franchise to sell out every home game. Could the Women’s Warriors similarly catch fire?
Canada only won 20 of 43 matches in the SVNS season but ended a 27-game losing streak against New Zealand with victory in the pool stage of the SVNS Grand Final in Madrid. They led 21-0 at halftime, scoring the most points of any team this season in the first half against New Zealand.
Canada also scored their first victory in fifteens against the Black Ferns this year. Fancy Bermudez scored two tries in the Christchurch triumph that ended a 17-match-losing streak.
The Canadians lost their first match of the Olympics to New Zealand 33-7. There were only three survivors from Tokyo 2020 (Charity Williams, Olivia Apps and Keyara Wardley) yet they rallied to shock a formidable France and Australia in the last eight.
Canada has combined their sevens and fifteens programmes, where the benefit is becoming increasingly obvious. Canada has a big presence in the world-leading English Premiership and were lacking their best player, the indomitable Sophie De Goode.
Maddison Levi became the all-time leading try (14) and point scorer (70) in a single Olympics. This surpasses the 10 tries and 50 points scored by Woodman-Wickliffe for New Zealand at Rio 2016. Levi’s haul included three hat-tricks, taking her clear of New Zealand duo Woodman-Wickliffe and Blyde on two.
A genuine superstar, Levi made her debut at Tokyo 2020, scoring three tries, and has gone on to become the fastest Australian woman to score 100 tries on the SVNS series. She has been the top try-scorer in each of the past two seasons, with 57 in 2023 and then breaking her own record with 69 in 2024.
A natural athlete, Levi first played Australian Rules in 2018 because her school team was short on numbers. She was selected for the U18 AFL Women’s Queensland State Academy the following year. Then, in 2020, she rejected a contract from Rugby Australia to focus on the code.
Levi set AFLW draft combine records in the 20-metre sprint and the vertical jump. She was subsequently selected by hometown team Gold Coast Suns with the 50th pick of the 2020 AFLW draft. A clause in her Suns contract allowed her to return to rugby. Sister Tegan Levi is a teammate.
1960-1964: Peter Snell – Track & Field, 800m
1984:1988: Ian Ferguson & Paul McDonald, – Canoeing, K-2 500m
1984-1988: Mark Todd, Equestrian, Individual Eventing
2004-2008: Caroline & Georgina Evers-Swindell – Rowing, Double Sculls
2008-2012: Dame Valerie Adams – Track & Field, Shot Put
2012-2016: Mahé Drysdale – Rowing, Single Sculls
2012-2016: Hamish Murray & Eric Bond – Rowing, Coxless Pair
2012-2020: Lisa Carrington – Canoeing K-1 200m (2012-20), K-2 500m (2016-20)
2020-2024: Black Ferns Sevens
This story was originally published at Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.
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